I think i have made some progress in getting a usable model with clothing for Maya.

I do get the impression there is some experienced person out there who could answer this question very easily but alas, its every person for themselves......,

I am using the trial for Poser 8 Pro and I can get fully textured nude models into Maya. It also appears that you can separate the head from the rest of the welded mesh (or you can export all the separate bodyparts) which would be great for facial animation software. I also plan to use a autorig script in Maya for the rest of the body so I should be good to go.

Does this make sense anyone out there? I am sure I'm missing a whole lot!!!!

Boy, everyone was so helpful in the Carrara forums when that was my platform of choice. There where so many people with quick responses for questions. I guess since Maya is a pro software platform everyone here treats any information like trade secrets....,, such is life.

I will get to the bottom of this and will share with those of use who want to use Maya to tell stories in small teams or solo. Maya tutorials seem so focused on modeling everything you use which is kind of weird to me. I don't want to learn how to model when there are so many people more talented than me doing it. Those poser models look so nice and there are so many of them, I find it hard to believe there is no established pipeline to get these models (unrigged) into Maya.

Why don't I want to learn how to model my own characters?

Do you need a license to drive a car? YES (legally at least)

Do you need a mechanics license to drive a car? No but it helps to know how the car works.

How many people driving cars have a mechanics license? A veryyyyy small percentage.

I'm not saying what I'm doing is the right way, but its is a way.